Prior to version 1.5.1, a non-electric metalwork bench could be used to make ten elevator shafts for one block of steel and ten copper wires, which was more steel-efficient than an electric metalwork bench.
Uses
The only way to get electricity across gaps between crafting surfaces is to place copper wire or a conducting block in an unbroken series of vertically and/or horizontally adjacent spaces between them. Wire can be placed in any space with a back wall or adjacent solid block, crafting surface, or wire. Starting in version 1.5 it may also be placed on a solid block, allowing electricity to be conducted through it, as long as the block isn't an ore block.